Contributions given at the event for Anne McLaren and Donald Michie Celebrating their lives At the Zoological Society London 19th July, 2007 Anne McLaren and Donald Michie – Opening Remarks Jonathan Michie (Anne & Donald’s son) Welcome Sir Patrick Bateson FRS (President of the Zoological Society of London) Anne the Scientist Ann Clarke (Anne’s colleague) Donald the Scientist Stephen Muggleton (Donald’s colleague) Memories of Donald Chris Michie (Donald’s son) Memories of Susan & Caroline Michie Anne & Donald (Anne & Donald's daughters) Letters written by Jessica Murray (grand-daughter) Memories of Laura Murray (grand-daughter), Anne & Donald Alex & Duncan Michie (grandsons), Rhona Michie (grand-daughter) and When asked what music she would like played when Cameron Michie (grandson) receiving the Japan Prize, Anne wrote: The two songs Anne the Scientist Jim Smith (Chairman, Gurdon Institute, I would like to hear are University of Cambridge) Joan Baez’s ‘Where have all the flowers gone?’, which Memories of Donald Drogo Michie (Donald’s nephew) is a lament not just for the Vietnam war but for all wars, past, present and Memories of Anne Jonathan Michie (Anne & Donald’s son) future, and John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, which is about a world of peace and love and social harmony. 1 Opening Remarks by Jonathan Michie (Anne & Donald’s son) For those who don’t know me – most of the Nobel Prize, of which Anne was and likely those towards the back of the remains the only woman recipient. hall – my name is Jonathan Michie and I’m not even going to begin to try to explain I’m one of Anne and Donald’s children. Anne and Donald’s relationship over the past 55 years. Suffice it to say that several years I’m not going to welcome you here, not after they were divorced, they bought a house because I’m inherently discourteous but together on Dick Place in Edinburgh, and for because we have with us someone far more several years the six of us lived together eminently suitable to undertake that role, there – Anne, Donald, Chris, Susan, myself and namely Sir Patrick Bateson, who is not only Caroline. Dick Place would host the a Fellow of the Royal Society but is also conference parties for all the international President of the Zoological Society gatherings that Anne and Donald were of London – which kindly offered to host responsible for. And the highlight of the today’s event. parties was always Terri Menke with her guitar, singing Bob Dylan and Joan Baez songs. But before handing over to Sir Patrick, I do Anne’s favourite was ‘Where Have All the want to thank everyone here for having made Flowers Gone?’, which is no doubt why she the effort to attend, on behalf of all four of chose it for the Japan Prize ceremony, Anne and Donald’s children – Chris, Susan, describing it as ‘a lament not just for the myself and Caroline. It does mean a lot to us Vietnam war but for all wars, past, present to have you all here with us today to honour and future’. and celebrate the lives of Anne and Donald. So, thank you to Terri for that, thank you to We’re particularly pleased that Terri Menke everyone else for being here with us today, has flown in specially from the States, and that and thank you to Sir Patrick Bateson for she has agreed to sing ‘Where Have All the agreeing to say a few words of welcome: Flowers Gone?’, which is one of the two Sir Patrick. songs Anne asked to be played when she received the Japan Prize – Japan’s equivalent 2 Welcome from Sir Patrick Bateson FRS (President of the Zoological Society of London) It’s appropriate that we’re meeting it. She gave me a grilling because she wanted here because Anne used to love to know whether we were as radical as we used to be and whether we were still a bringing her and Donald’s decent liberal college. She also wanted to grandchildren to the London Zoo. know about our credentials in biological Indeed, she was here recently to see the science. I’m glad to say that I persuaded her opening of the Clore Pavilion with its that King’s was the right College for her to wonderful Brazilian rainforest. She had several join and she was duly elected a Fellow. other connections with the Zoological When she retired she became an Honorary Society of London – first of all, when she was Fellow of King’s. quite young, she was given the Scientific Medal of the Society, which is a very good What was very striking about Anne was that predictor of subsequent eminence. The – along with all the other things that she did Society was right in its prediction, of course, – she played a very active part in the life of and you’ll hear later about many of Anne’s the College and came to many dinners. other honours and achievements. A particularly great treat for us was that she Subsequently she became a member of our used to come to the seminars for biologists Council and then became Vice President. So which Mike Bate and I organised. What she she had a long association with the Zoo, especially liked about those occasions was which I’m very pleased about. the opportunity to talk to the students. That was absolutely characteristic of her – I had another connection with Anne. When she had a real love of the young and wanted she retired from London and came up to to meet them. Cambridge to work at the Gurdon Institute I was very keen to recruit her to a Fellowship I last saw Anne and Donald at a Royal Society at my College. As Provost of King’s, I invited soiree two weeks ago. It has many exhibits, her to come so that I could talk to her about as many of you will know, scattered round the 3 Royal Society and one of the exhibits was a Theirs was an innovative form of “learn-how-to-become-a-surgeon”. The three computation. As everybody knows,Alan of us were gathered round the simulation of Turing is now regarded as the founder of removing a gall bladder from a patient. You modern computing. The interesting thing had to manipulate forceps and micro about this particular link – and it’s one of scissors – not real, it’s all simulated, but it the many overlapping circles between the felt real. The rather alarming thing about lives of Anne and Donald – was that Alan the simulation was that when you moved Turing was a Fellow of King’s. the scissors to the right they went to the left. Donald and I thought we would never Everyone who knew Anne well was be very good surgeons because our hands enormously fond of her, and I recently heard were quivering so much, but Anne, who was that the great evolutionary biologist John very fond of dissection when she began life Maynard Smith said that the one thing he as a zoologist,said that she would do it but really regretted in his life was that he had she needed a pile of books under each never married Anne. (I’m sure his wife elbow for support. I liked the thought of Sheila forgave him for that!) All of us loved surgeon Anne in a real operating theatre her for her great humanity and wisdom, and removing a patient’s gall bladder with piles I think it was marvellous that Anne and of books under her elbows. Donald were such good companions even after they were divorced. They stayed I knew Donald much less well than I knew together and, of course, as we know sadly Anne, and he, as you will know, began his they died together. And all I can say is that research life in the company of Alan Turing. we shall miss enormously their friendship This was in the worst days of the Second and the insight of these two very great and World War when Britain desperately needed remarkable people. to crack the codes that were being used by the Germans. Donald’s work with Turing set the pattern for the rest of his career. 4 Anne the Scientist by Ann Clarke (PhD student at Edinburgh in the late 60s, former Senior Scientific Officer and Project Leader at The Babraham Institute in Cambridge, reproductive immunologist and conservationist) I speak ofAnne on behalf of two On the process of how to be efficient with our groups of people, her graduate time, put best by John West: ‘I was so impressed that Anne could find time to work at the bench, students and her fellow members of attend meetings and spend time with her family the Frozen Ark project. that I decided there must be three of her’. Anne at the Institute of Genetics in Edinburgh We had a training that the majority of PhDs nurtured, in the 1960s and 1970s, nine do not enjoy today.A discipline combined graduate students, of which I was one, her with a freedom to follow where the science only female PhD student. She was a model led, an opportunity to sink or swim on our supervisor, combining an ever-open door own merits.We also had an enormous with a knack of leaving us alone without amount of fun, generated by the environment interference. Eric Bell summed it up when he Anne created for us - one of both privacy and said: ‘there is no doubt Anne was terrific.